Lockheed Martin To Sell Hellfire II Missiles To Greece

The governments of Greece and the United States have signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance for the sale of additional Lockheed Martin [LMT] precision-strike laser-guided Hellfire II missiles to Greece.

The agreement, announced by Lockheed Martin Oct. 2, authorizes the sale of multiple warhead variants of the modular Hellfire II, with options, for the Hellenic Army's AH-64 Apache and the Hellenic Navy's SH-60B Seahawk helicopters. The value of the contract and the deliverables were not disclosed.

"We are honored that the Hellenic Army and Navy have once again selected Hellfire II missiles to equip their Apache and Seahawk fleets in defense of their borders," Ken Musculus, Lockheed Martin Air-to-Ground Missile Systems program director, said. "We look forward to supporting the Hellenic Forces in their initiative to expand their Hellfire warhead inventory for multi-mission capability. Hellfire II currently offers three warhead variants to engage a broad target set, while minimizing collateral damage."

Greece is purchasing Hellfire II missiles through a Foreign Military Sale contract.

This purchase employs economy of scale, taking advantage of a large buy of Hellfire missiles from Lockheed Martin by the U.S. Army to reduce cost for both users.

With more than 20,000 rounds delivered, Hellfire II is approved for international sales, via government-to-government or direct commercial sales.

A combat-proven air-to-ground and ground-to-ground weapon system, Hellfire II is currently fielded to all U.S. military services and those of 13 other nations.

Nearly 6,800 Hellfire rounds have been successfully fired by coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq against diverse targets.

Hellfire II is launched from a wide array of platforms, including the U.S. Army's AH-64 Apache and OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters; the U.S. Marine Corps' AH-1 Cobra; the U.S. Navy's SH-60 Seahawk helicopter; the UK's Apache attack helicopter; the Eurocopter Tiger and the U.S. Air Force's MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle. Norway and Sweden also employ Hellfire missiles launched from tripods in a coastal defense mode.